Accounting and consulting giant KPMG and InvestDen have joined forces to provide entrepreneurs with improved access to capital and a range of service across the startup value chain. The hope is that through supporting alternatively financed entities with careful advice, a whole new startup landscape can develop through which SME activity in the UK is stimulated.

InvestDen was founded in 2014 in London, UK. The company provides a means of connecting business to capital through an online platform accessible to almost anyone with capital to invest. The aim of InvestDen is to offer access to alternative financing, a market estimated to be worth €2.3 billion in the UK. Given the high cost and difficulty attached to bank loans, startup businesses often have difficulty raising capital. InvestDen provides entrepreneurs with a space in which they can pitch their ideas, while investors are able to gain transparent insight into whether those ideas are worth the inherent risks.

KPMG, through its partnership with InvestDen, will provide entrepreneurs with services and advice for the development of their alternative market funding propositions. The alliance between the firms is set up so that KPMG can support large and small organisation is their initial development, while attracting potential entrepreneurs to InvestDen’s platform. For the professional services firm the alliance is also expected to prove positive for branding and networking, as the advisory enters into talks with potentially explosive growth SMEs.

Ben McDonald, Head of Enterprise for London Region at KPMG, says: “In our conversations with entrepreneurs, we hear time and again that the funding landscape for small businesses can be complex and difficult to navigate, something which is spurring the growth of alternative finance providers which are able to provide clarity and simplicity in their offerings. We see crowdfunding as one such alternative source of capital for ambitious businesses, which is why we’re delighted to enter into this alliance with InvestDen. The alliance is fully aligned with KPMG’s strategy to work with companies at all stages of development across the UK.”

Globally, crowdfunding, after P2P lending the largest form of alternative financing, has in recent years booked stellar growth, and is this year estimated to generate $30 billion in capital, up from $2 billion in 2012.

InvestDen Chief Executive, Matt Novak, says: “This alliance is important because it provides companies raising capital through InvestDen access to the tools and skill sets required to prosper. From an investor perspective, it brings a level of robustness to the market and validates the crowdfunding industry. Crowdfunding is now a viable route of financing and plays a part in a balanced and diversified portfolio.”